BOSTON – Suffolk women's hockey scored two goals over two periods in a 4:30 span and Lily O'Neil was perfect between the pipes to send the Rams to a 2-0 Commonwealth Coast Conference victory over Western New England Friday night at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 2 | Western New England 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (5-13-1, 4-7-1 CCC) | Western New England (11-5-2, 7-4-1 CCC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
A rebound played a crucial role to get Suffolk on the board in the first period. On the power play, the Rams' second of the night, Sam Molind won the face off and got Katie Newkirk the puck. Newkirk fired a shot from the top of the left face off dot, which Rieley Jessie-Gerelli denied. Jenna Caballero was there to pick up the save and quickly tuck it under the Golden Bear's goalie pads to push the Rams in front 1-0 at the 16:12 mark.  

Suffolk doubled the distance in the first minute of the middle period. WNE attempted to clear its zone, but Newkirk poke the puck away instead and got it to Kellie Popkin. Popkin zoomed towards the cage for a one-on-one with Jessie-Gerelli. The Rams graduate student got the puck past the netminder to give the blue-and-gold a 2-0 margin 42 seconds into the second. 

The blue-and-gold's defense preserved the victory in the final 20 minutes. In net, O'Neil had 14 saves and the Rams blocked seven shots to keep the Golden Bears off the board.  

NETMINDER NOTES

• O'Neil finished the shutout with 31 stops. 
• Jessie-Gerelli logged 29 saves in the setback. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Caballero and Popkin scored one goal apiece for Suffolk. 
• Newkirk registered a pair of assists. 
• Molind had one assist. 
• Shots were even at 31. 
• The Rams won the face-off battle, 27-23. 
• Suffolk went 1-for-4 on the power play and skated off its three penalities.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk improved to 6-2-0 all-time against WNE. 
• The Rams defeated the Golden Bears for the first time since Jan. 28, 2023. 
• It is the first shutout between Suffolk and WNE since Jan. 27, 2023, a 5-0 cleansheet in Suffolk's favor. 
• Five games in the all-time series have been decided via shutout. 
• Suffolk is 4-1-0 in shutouts against the Golden Bears. 
• Suffolk remains unbeaten at home, 4-0-0, against the Golden Bears. 
• Suffolk defeated WNE under Abby Ostrom's guidance for the first time.
• The Rams have potted two or more goals against Western New England in both matches played in the Ostrom era. 
• Overall, Suffolk has scored multiple goals in every game, except one versus WNE. 
• Newkirk finished with a career-high in points (2) and assists (2). 
• Popkin potted her third goal of the season. 
• Caballero chipped in her fourth goal of the year. 
• Molind had her second assist of the campaign. 
• O'Neil registered her third cleansheet of the season and seventh of her collegiate career. 
• Three of Suffolk's five wins this season have come in shutout fashion. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk and Western New England are in store for a rematch tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 27 at 7:00 p.m. at the Olympia Ice Center in West Springfield, Massachusetts.